Family is Everything
by richonnesmints
Summary: Just something extra to add to the events at the end of 7x16, Michonne's time in the infirmary and how Rick reacts to everything... and maybe Maggie is there to support him through it all.


Rick ran. He ran as fast as he could. He felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest and his legs were shaking, but he didn't stop. He kept running. He had to get to her. He was afraid of what he would find, but he had to know if she was alive. He had to know.

He glanced over to see if Carl was still with him and he was. Carl looked back and Rick saw that tears were flowing down his cheeks. He could see in his eyes that he was terrified.

After what felt like forever, they finally made it to where she was supposed to be.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw her.

He found her. She was alive.

"We have to get her to the infirmary," Carl said as he looked at Michonne.

Rick ran the back of his hand down her cheek before he whispered in her ear.

"I have to get you to the infirmary," he told her. "I'm gonna pick you up."

Rick bent down and put one arm around her legs and used the other to support her back. Michonne gasped and Rick knew she was in pain.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He couldn't stand seeing her like that. He would take all the pain away from her if he could.

Rick began to walk with Michonne in his arms while Carl led the way with a rifle in his hands. He was ready to use it if any other enemies were around.

"Not.. your," She gasped again from the pain. "Fault."

Rick kept looking down to see if she was still with him. Her good eye remained open and she stared up at him.

Michonne was in so much pain. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. Being in Rick's arms was so comfortable, so safe. She felt herself getting sleepy so she closed her eye.

Rick looked down and saw that her eye was closed. He began to panic. He was so scared that she left him.

"Michonne?" He said quickly as he looked down at her.

"Hmm?" She responded, her eye still closed.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah," she whispered before she winced. It even hurt to talk. The left side of her face was a disaster. Her eye was swollen shut and her left cheek was huge.

"Can you stay awake for me? I know you're tired just stay awake a little bit longer."

Michonne could hear the fear in his voice. He was afraid that she would slip away from him.

She was bloody and bruised, but she wasn't going to die. She, herself, wasn't going to let that happen. She just needed rest.

But Rick asked her to stay awake, so she would as long as she could.

"I'm here," she told him. "Not going anywhere."

"You're here," he told her. "You're not going anywhere."

He had to repeat it to convince himself. She wasn't going to leave him.

They finally made it to the infirmary and he carried her over to the bed. There wasn't a doctor around. Negan and his men had made sure of that. For the time being, Rick had to examine her himself. He obviously wasn't a doctor but he had learned a few things along the way.

"Carl, I need you to go get help," he told him. He hoped Carl would bring back someone who maybe knew a bit more than he did.

Carl nodded and ran out of the infirmary as fast as he could.

Rick grabbed a few cloths and poured some water on them. He began to wipe the blood off her face and she winced in pain.

After he was finished, she pointed to her stomach.

"Hurts," she whispered. "A lot."

He lifted her sweater and her undershirt and there was a huge bruise. He ran his hand lightly over the area to make sure none of her ribs were broken. Fortunately, they weren't.

They were just bruised.

He noticed that her arm was bleeding. It was all scraped up.

"Let's just get this sweater off you," he told her. "This isn't gonna feel good."

She raised her arms and winced in pain as Rick lifted the shirt over her head. Rick threw the shirt to the floor and she breathed heavily, trying not to cry because of the pain.

Rick rushed over to get some tape and some bandages for her arm.

He winced in pain, covering his side with his hand. He remembered that he was shot. He looked down and his shirt was covered in blood. He would worry about that later. He had to take care of Michonne first.

"I know I've said this about three times already and I'm sorry, but this is gonna hurt," Rick told her before he poured alcohol on her arm.

She gritted her teeth and moaned in pain. She looked down and saw Rick's shirt was covered in blood. She knew it wasn't hers.

"You're bleeding," she whispered.

"Jadis shot me," he told her.

Michonne could feel herself getting angry. They all had put their trust into Jadis and the rest of her group and they betrayed them. They lived right where they belonged, at the landfill. They were all trash, scum of the Earth. Michonne was so angry she wanted to kill them all, Jadis especially.

"Take care of yourself," she told him.

"I'm okay," he told her. He was mostly. It was only hurting him a little bit.

Michonne raised her hand to try to lift up his shirt to take a look at his wound but he gently grabbed her hand.

"You need.." She tried to tell him he needed to worry about himself for once but he wasn't having that.

"I'll get checked out later," he told her as he drew tiny circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "You're more important right now."

Michonne let out a breath but soon regretted doing so because it hurt her ribs.

Michonne thought Rick was so stubborn. He had a bullet in him and was bleeding, but there he was doing everything he possibly could to make sure she was okay.

Carl rushed in with Maggie and a man that Rick assumed was from the hilltop. Carl went to stand by the other side of Michonne's bed. Tara and Rosita followed closely behind them.

Tara helped Rosita to the bed beside Michonne's.

"Take care of Michonne first," Rosita told Maggie. "I'm fine."

"You go over there and check her out," Maggie told him and he nodded. He rushed over to Rosita.

Maggie walked over to Michonne to check her out. Rick stood at the side of the bed and continued to hold her hand.

"I looked her over," Rick explained as Maggie checked her out. "I think she has a few cracked ribs and I put a bandage on her arm."

Maggie glanced at Rick before looking at Michonne. "You might have a concussion. Do you feel dizzy?"

Michonne shook her head a little. "It just hurts."

Maggie nodded before walking over to cabinet where the medicine was kept.

"You're gonna have to take it easy for a while," Maggie told her.

"She will," Rick answered for her. He would make sure of it.

"Of course I m not a doctor, but I do know the difference between medication. I learned a lot from dad. Take this. It'll help a lot with the pain," Maggie said as she handed Michonne two pills and a glass of water.

Michonne took the medicine and she took the glass of water from her.

"Thank you," Michonne whispered.

Maggie placed her hand on top of Michonne s and smiled a little.

"Rick was shot," Michonne told her. "Make sure he's okay."

Maggie turned to Rick. "When were you going to decide to tell me?"

"After everyone else was taken care of first," Rick explained.

Maggie shook her head. You know you have to take care of yourself every once in awhile.

Maggie felt like she was getting on to an older brother, but then again, that's exactly what Rick was to her. He was like her brother and she respected him. He had kept everyone safe and alive. He tried the best he could.

Maggie walked over to wash her hands before she walked back over to Rick. Let me take a look, she told him.

Rick started to unbutton his shirt while Maggie grabbed a chair and sat it in front of his. As soon as he finished unbuttoning his shirt, he grabbed Michonne's hand again.

"Good thing is, it's not that deep," Maggie said as she examined the wound.

She looked over and the man she brought was just finishing up with Rosita.

"I might need some help over here," she told him

"Is he a doctor?" Rick asked her as the man walked over to them.

Maggie shook her head. "No. He's like me, he know a few things."

"He's got a gunshot wound. "The bullet's not in that deep," Maggie explained.

"I've taken out a few bullets before, the man said. I just took out hers over there. I can get it out."

He washed his hands and put some gloves on. He picked up some tools and knelt down in front of Rick.

"This is gonna hurt," the man told him.

"I know," Rick told him. It wasn't the first time he had to get a bullet taken out of him and it most likely wouldn't be the last.

"You've been shot before?" He asked.

"A few times."

"I'm John," the man told him.

"Rick."

"Now, Rick I need you to hold very still," John told him.

John always found it helpful if he talked to the person while he got the bullet out. It distracted them and usually kept them from moving.

"Is this your wife and son?" He asked as he glanced at Michonne and Carl.

He put the tool in him to get out the bullet.

"That's my son," Rick answered, his voice strained. "She's not my wife, but I'm with her though."

"Ah, you have a beautiful family," John told him.

"I have another child. She's a little over a year old," Rick added.

John finally got the bullet out. He got up and grabbed a bandage.

"And how is she doing today?" John asked.

'She's safe," Rick said.

"I'm glad," John said as he finished putting the bandage on him.

He stood up. "You have a bruised rib or two, so you re gonna have to take it slow. But other than that, everything looks okay."

Rick began to button up his shirt again. "Thank you.

"It's no problem," he told him. He turned to Maggie. "I'll be back later to check on everyone."

Maggie nodded and the man left. She turned to Rick.

"Is everything okay? Do you need anything else?"

Rick shook his head. "How are you doing?" He asked when he saw Maggie place her hands on her stomach.

She smiled. "I'm fine, just a little hungry. I'm always hungry these days," she said before she glanced down at her stomach and laughed.

Rick smiled. "How's the baby?"

"Healthy," she told him. A few seconds later, her stomach growled.

"You should go eat something. We'll be okay here," Rick told her. He didn't want to keep Maggie there any longer. He wanted her to go eat.

"Yell if you need something," Maggie said as she walked over to the door.

"I will," he told her before she left.

Michonne began to move on the bed so she could lie down but Rick rushed to her side and lifted her up to help her get settled. He covered her up and fixed the pillow for her.

"Are you comfortable?' He asked her and she nodded.

Rick grabbed a chair and moved it right beside the bed. He sat down and grabbed Michonne's hand.

He glanced over at her and his blood began to boil as he looked at her. Almost every inch of her body was bruised and beaten. She could barely talk without feeling pain.

He would never forgive himself. He trusted them and everything went to hell. He knew Michonne would never blame him but he was the one who was so eager to ask for their help, the one who had made the deal. He was the one who had allowed them to come to Alexandria and they had come and Michonne got so hurt. He wanted to kill every last one of them.

Michonne coughed and he looked over at her, his blue eyes filled with worry.

"I'm okay," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I am if you are," Rick answered.

Michonne knew he was worried. She just wanted to make him smile, make him forget about everything.

"You know," Michonne whispered. "You still owe me that deer."

There it was. One of her most favorite things in the world: his smile.

"Did you think I'd forget?" He asked with a small smile.

"I'm just reminding you."

Rick bent down and kissed her forehead.

She squeezed his hand a little. She couldn't fight sleep anymore.

Rick moved his head closer to her ear. "It's okay, you can sleep now," he told her. "I'll be here when you wake up."

With that, Michonne closed her eyes and a few minutes later, she was off to sleep.

Rick sat with her a while until Maggie came back and told him that they were going to have a funeral service for Sasha.

Rick didn't want to miss it. He had to be there for Sasha.

He kissed Michonne's hand before gently putting it back on the bed. He hoped she would be okay while he was gone.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered into her ear even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

Rick walked to the house and changed his shirt before heading to the little cemetery they had in Alexandria.

They had a beautiful service for Sasha and everyone in the group said a few things about her.

"If you needed something, Sasha would be there to have your back," Rick said. "She was so brave and so selfless. She was a great friend that everyone wanted to have."

Maggie wiped a few tears away before she began her speech.

"After Glenn died, she helped pick me up. She was there to dry my tears and she always encouraged me to keep fighting. She helped me see the leader in myself. All she wanted to do was keep me safe she was more than my best friend. She was family and I will never be able to repay her for everything she did for me."

Maggie picked up a rock and placed it on her grave.

"Thanks for being here for me," she whispered to the grave.

Maggie looked up at the sky. "Smile," she whispered to herself. "She's with Glenn."

Maggie ended the service giving a beautiful speech about Glenn.

Rick saw that she was crying and he went over to hug her.

After that was over, Ezekiel wanted Maggie and Rick to go to the center of Alexandria and meet with the groups.

Rick really wanted to go back to Michonne, but Carl spoke up.

"Dad, I can go sit with Michonne," he offered. "I'll come get you if anything happens."

"Thank you," Rick said as he touched his son's shoulder.

Rick walked with Maggie to Ezekiel and met with the groups from the hilltop and the kingdom. All three leaders gave a speech, encouraging them all and telling them that they wouldn't stop fighting for what was theirs.

"We won't stop until they're all dead," Rick shouted at the end of his speech and everyone cheered. Shiva even roared a bit and everyone stepped back, even Rick and Maggie.

"Don't be afraid," Ezekiel told them all with a smile. "She will only attack if you pose a threat."

"We'll all meet later and discuss plans," Rick told them. "For now, scavenge what you can. We have a big fight ahead of us."

"But we will beat them," Maggie added.

"We will," Ezekiel agreed.

Everyone began to scatter, going in separate directions and Rick made sure everything was settled before leaving.

When he got back to the infirmary, he found a sleeping Carl and Michonne. His head was resting against the wall. It had been a long day for all of them.

Rick walked over to Carl and tapped his shoulder.

"Carl," he whispered.

Carl quickly sat up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Rick told him. "I know you're tired. Why don't you go on home and get some rest?"

Carl looked at Michonne and Rick knew he was worried about her.

"She'll be fine," Rick told him.

Carl shrugged. "I know. I'm just worried."

"Me too,' Rick confessed.

Carl walked over to the door.

"Hey, Carl?" Rick said as he walked up to him.

"Yeah, dad?"

"I know I don't ask this as much as I should, but are you okay?"

Rick tried to be the best father he could and he knew that a lot of times his best wasn't enough. He didn't usually sit down and talk to Carl and ask him if he was okay because he knew that no matter how many times he said he was okay, he really wasn't and he had no idea what to say to him. What was he supposed to say? How was Rick supposed to talk to his teenage son who had lost so much and suffered through more than anyone ever should? He didn't want to tell him that everything would be okay. He had told him that exact sentence before, but everything wasn't okay. Rick didn't know if it ever would be. He didn't want to tell him that because it would just be another lie and lying to him was the last thing he wanted to do.

But Rick needed Carl to know that he was there for him. He needed him to know that more than anything.

Carl shrugged. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

Rick sighed. "Carl, you know that's not what I mean."

Carl looked up at him. "I just want this whole thing with Negan to be over and I just want them to leave us alone. I'm tired of people dying. I wish I could do more."

Sometimes Carl felt like he was just sitting back and not helping enough. He felt useless.

"You're helping out a whole lot," Rick told him.

Carl sighed. "It's not enough," Rick touched his shoulder. "It's more than enough. I'm proud of you. You know that, right? I don't say it a lot but I am."

Rick pulled Carl closer and hugged him.

"Everything will be Rick..." trailed off. No, he definitely didn't want to say that everything would be okay. "We'll beat them. We'll win."

Carl pulled back to look at him. "We will."

Carl opened the door and glanced at Rick one more time.

"I love you, dad," he told him. He hadn't said it in a long time.

Rick smiled. "I love you too, Carl."

Carl left and Rick went to sit beside Michonne again. He grabbed her hand and rubbed her arm with his other hand.

A thousand thoughts spiraled through his mind. He began to think about their run and how he had told her he could lose her. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to think it, much less say it out loud. Rick knew that was one of the biggest lies he had ever told. He regretted even saying it.

Rick couldn't stand the thought of never seeing her again. He d miss her smile, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, the sound of her voice the way she whispered his name in the morning when she woke him up and the kisses she gave him before she fell asleep. He d miss everything.

Michonne was the one who kept him going, kept him fighting. She always stood by his side, letting him know if he was doing the right or wrong thing. He was so thankful for that. He was so grateful for her. Besides Carl and Judith, she was the only light in his world. She kept him calm, she made him feel safe.

He couldn't lose Michonne ever.

A few tears went down Rick s cheeks. He sniffled as he looked over at Rosita and Tara. Tara was lying beside Tara in the bed and they were both asleep. He was glad that they were asleep.

He wiped the tears away and sniffled again. He moved his head closer to Michonne's hand and kissed it. He rested his head on the pillow beside hers and cried some more before he finally fell asleep.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

It had been over two days and Michonne had only woken up three times. And when she did wake up, she was only awake for a few minutes and all Rick had got to ask her was how she was feeling. She would say It hurts or I'm really sore before she would fall back asleep.

Rick worried the whole entire time. John came by and checked on them and assured Rick that everything was okay, that it was normal for her to be asleep for such long periods. She had went through a lot. Rick knew, but he couldn't stop worrying about her.

Maggie tried to get Rick to leave to rest, but he wouldn't leave her. She went to check on Carl and Judith (Aaron and Tara had made a trip to the hilltop to get her) to make sure they were both okay.

Maggie had to take food to Rick every now and then to make sure he wasn't going to pass out. She was sure he wouldn't have eaten anything if it wasn't for her.

"You don't have to do this," Rick told Maggie after about the fifth time she took him food.

Maggie nodded. "I do," she said as she handed him a sandwich and a bottle of water. "I know that if Glenn was here and he was in your position, you and Michonne would do the same thing for me."

Rick nodded, agreeing with her. They all took care of each other. They were a family.

Maggie looked down at the floor and Rick was sure she was thinking about Glenn. He often thought about Glenn.

Rick sat the plate and his water down before he turned to Maggie.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about Glenn," Rick admitted. It was true. He thought about him most nights when he couldn't sleep and every time he walked past their house. It was so different without him.

"I just wish I could've done more to save him," Rick told her. He blamed himself for everything. He had told Michonne, but this was the first time he had admitted it to Maggie.

"You did everything you could," Rick, Maggie told him. "I believe that. I know in my heart that Glenn would believe it too. He would never blame you."

Rick cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Rick, it's not your fault," Maggie told him. "I don't blame you and I never will."

Rick rubbed his face with his hand and let out a breath. "I miss him a lot," he confessed.

"Sometimes I forget he isn't here and I've even found myself walking to your house to just talk but then I realize he's gone and it's just not the same without him, you know?"

The first time Rick had walked to their house before he realized Glenn wasn't there broke his heart. Glenn was always there since the beginning and it was so hard to actually process that he was really gone.

Rick looked up at Maggie and there were tears streaming down her face. He knew that Maggie knew out of everyone how different it was without Glenn being there.

Maggie nodded. "I know," she told him, her voice cracking. "Sometimes I turn around half expecting Glenn to be there so I can tell him about something I think is funny," Maggie trailed off and shrugged. She was almost sobbing. "But he's not there."

Rick walked over to Maggie and placed his hand on her shoulder. She wiped her tears away before looking up at Rick.

"The thing that makes me okay is that I know he's with Dad, Beth, Sasha, and everyone else we've all lost Maybe he's with his parents, his sisters... they're all together and they won't have to feel pain ever again and I will be with him again one day."

"Yeah," Rick whispered as he nodded. "We all will."

Rick hugged Maggie and then she stepped back.

"Glenn thought of you as a brother," she told him. "He told me that a lot he said that you were like a big brother that he never had and he respected you."

That made Rick smile. He also thought of Glenn as a brother.

She walked over to the door. She felt like she needed to repeat something again. Don t ever blame yourself, Rick.

Rick nodded before he looked at the floor after Maggie left.

He decided to sit down and eat his sandwich. He picked it up and took a big bite.

He was halfway finished with the sandwich before he noticed that Michonne had opened her eyes. Her left eye was still swollen, but she could finally open it up a little.

Rick put the plate down before he turned back to Michonne.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he said back. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still a little sore, but I'm okay. How are you?"

"I'm fine," he told her.

Michonne looked him over and he looked like hell. She knew he hadn't slept and the dark circles under his eyes confirmed it.

"When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" Michonne asked him.

"A few nights ago when you were lying in bed beside me," Rick told her.

Michonne's eyes widened. "Have you been here the whole time?"

Rick grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Yeah. I told you I'd be here when you wake up, didn't I?"

Rick scooted the chair closer to the bed. Their faces were only inches apart.

"You didn't have to stay here the whole time," she told him. "You should have went home and got some sleep."

"I wouldn't have been able to sleep," he told her before he kissed her forehead.

Michonne understood. If it was the other way around, she would have done the same thing. She would have been worried about him too.

"How's Carl and Judith doing?" Michonne asked.

"They're fine. Aaron and Tara picked up Judith yesterday," he explained. "Maggie's been keeping an eye on them."

"Maggie's still here?" She asked, surprised. She had missed her a lot.

Michonne eyed the sandwich on the table beside the bed. She figured that Maggie had been checking up on Rick too. She would have to thank her later.

Rick nodded as she looked over to the empty bed across the room.

"Rosita left over a day ago," Rick told her. "She's fine."

Michonne had remembered Sasha. She hadn't seen her yet and Rick hadn't mentioned her. She hoped that Negan had let Sasha go.

"And Sasha?" Michonne asked.

Michonne realized that something was wrong when she saw Rick's face fall.

"What is it?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Rick ran his hand through his hair. He had forgotten that Michonne didn't even know about Sasha's s death.

"She didn't make it," Rick whispered. Michonne's eyes widened and she let out a breath. She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head.

"What happened?" She asked.

Rick told her everything that had happened, from Sasha's death, to the speech in the middle of Alexandria, to the funeral they had for Sasha. Michonne ended up crying and Rick held her hand.

Michonne hated the fact that she hadn't seen Sasha in a few weeks and she couldn't believe that she would never see her again. She was so sad; she couldn't even remember the last time they had a normal conversation.

She was so sick and tired of losing people she cared about. She promised herself she wouldn't stop fighting until Negan and his men were in graves.

"We're going to beat them," Michonne said as a matter-of-fact.

I know we will, Rick said as he squeezed her hand.

Maggie walked in and smiled when she saw that Michonne was awake. She walked over to her and touched her shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey," Michonne said. "How are you?"

"I'm great, Maggie answered. "And you?"

"I've been better," Michonne said as she smiled a little.

"Would y'all like me to go get Carl and Judith"? She asked them. "Carl keeps asking about you."

Michonne nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"I'll be right back."

Maggie opened the door and was about to leave until Michonne said her name.

Maggie turned around and Michonne began to speak.

"Thanks for looking out for them when I couldn't."

Maggie smiled. "It was no problem at all," she told her before she left.

John walked in a few minutes later.

"I saw Maggie walking down the street and she stopped me to tell me that you were awake, so I thought I'd come to check on you."

Michonne sat up and Rick helped her. John grabbed a stethoscope and listened to everything.

"Sounds good," he said after a minute.

He took the bandage off her arm and looked at the wound. "This is healing properly."

He walked over to get another bandage to put it on her.

"You haven't had any trouble breathing since you've been awake, have you?" He asked as he took a look at her stomach. There was still a few nasty bruises there but she would be okay.

He looked at her face. "No dizziness? No trouble seeing or anything like that?'

Michonne shook her head.

"Everything looks good," he told her. "Just take it easy for a bit and you'll be good as new."

"When can I go home?" Michonne asked him. "I miss my kids."

Rick smiled at the fact that she said "my" .

John smiled. "I'm sure you do, but I think it'll be safe for you to go home tomorrow. Stay here another day and heal a bit more and then you can go home to your kids."

Michonne smiled. She liked the sound of that.

"Thank you," Rick said. "For everything."

John smiled. "No need to thank me, I'm just pulling my weight and helping out."

"If you need anything, you can have Maggie come and get me," he said before he left.

About twenty minutes later, Carl showed up with Judith beside him. He was holding her hand. She had a folded piece of paper in her other hand.

She rushed over to Michonne with the biggest smile on her face.

"She's been running all over the house looking for you," Carl explained. "She's missed you a lot. I helped her make a get well card for you."

There was a little bit of room beside Michonne. She patted the spot. "Rick, help her up here."

Rick picked her up. "You have to be really careful, he told her. Michonne has a few boo boos."

Judith nodded her head and Rick put her down.

"Hey, sweetie," Michonne whispered. "What do you have there?"

Judith handed her the card. On the front of it, the words "get well soon" were written across it. Michonne opened the card and a few scribbles were drawn across the paper.

"This is beautiful," she said as she looked between Carl and Judith.

She closed the card and "we love you" was written on the back.

Michonne sat up as much as she could. She wrapped one arm around Judith and she looked over at Carl.

"I have another arm I can hug you with. Come on," she told him.

Carl looked a little hesitant at first because he didn't want to hurt her, but he eventually moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love both of you too," she whispered before she kissed their heads.

She had two of the most important people in her arms. She loved them more than words could ever explain. They brought so much happiness to her life and she adored them so much. They were like her own children. She would have done anything to protect them.

Carl stepped back and grabbed something out of his pocket. Michonne smiled when she saw that it was a candy bar.

"This is for you. I thought I'd share it with you. It's melted a little but it's hot outside and it was a long walk over here with Judith. She chased a bug up the sidewalk and I had to catch her," he said as he handed it over to her.

Michonne laughed a little. Judith had just started walking a few weeks earlier. She was getting into everything. They all had chased her around the house. They could barely keep up with her.

Judith got on her knees and looked at Michonne. She saw that her cheek was bruised very bad.

Boo boo, She said as she stood up on the bed and kissed Michonne's cheek. After she was finished, she laid down beside Michonne.

Michonne realized what she was doing and she began to smile. "Thank you, Judith."

Rick turned his head to the side and looked at Michonne. "What is it?" He asked.

"She's trying to kiss the boo boo away," Michonne explained. "Whenever she falls and gets hurt, I kiss it and she thinks that she's helping me."

Judith looked up at her as Michonne ran her hand through Judith s small curls. She yawned about a minute later.

"Someone's getting sleepy," she said as she touched Judith's nose. Judith grabbed Michonne's hand and held onto a few of her fingers.

She was sure Judith was confused about the whole situation. She was the one who had put Judith to sleep every night and she didn't like anyone else doing it except Michonne. She knew Judith was tired.

Michonne looked over at Carl. "Have you been getting enough to eat and sleep?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"Good," Michonne said. "I'm glad."

"Are you okay?" Carl asked her. Will you be coming home soon?

Michonne nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to come home tomorrow."

Carl smiled. "I'm glad."

"Judith and I both miss you," he confessed as he looked down at the floor.

Michonne smiled. "I miss you too."

Rick smiled as he listened to their conversation. He was so glad that Carl accepted her into the family and loved her as much as he did.

"She's asleep," Michonne whispered as she looked down at Judith. "You should get her home."

Carl smiled as he nodded. "I'm gonna go home and read a few comics. It'll be a lot better than reading a book about animals on a farm and the sounds they make."

Michonne smiled. Judith loved that book. She had to read it to her at least once a day.

"Hey, Carl?" Michonne said after he picked Judith up.

"Yeah?"

"I have to take it easy for a few days after I get out, so maybe it can be like old times. We can read comics together."

Carl smiled, showing his teeth. They hadn't done that together in a long time.

"That'll be awesome," he said.

"Bye, dad. Bye, mom- I mean Michonne," Carl stuttered. He was obviously embarrassed by the fact that he called her mom. His face started to turn red.

Michonne just smiled. It didn't bother her at all. It warmed her heart that he thought of her that way.

"See you later, Carl," she told him.

He began to smile back when he realized she wasn't mad about it.

"Don't read all the comics without me," she told him.

"No promises," he said before he laughed a little. He opened the door and left with Judith in his arms.

Michonne looked over at Rick. "He called you mom," he whispered.

He couldn't believe it. It made him so happy.

Michonne smiled. "He did. He didn't need to be embarrassed about it. It's okay."

Rick smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I think I want to lie back," she told him.

He nodded and helped her settle on the bed. He fixed her pillows for her.

"Do you need extra pillows or an extra blanket?" He asked to make sure she was comfortable.

Michonne smiled. "No, this is okay."

Rick scooted his chair as close as possible to the bed. He was quiet for a long time and Michonne knew he was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him.

"A lot of things," he admitted, "But mostly, I'm thinking about you."

Rick sighed before gently placing his hand on her bad cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Michonne was confused. "About what?"

"I shouldn't have said that." His eyes were full of sadness.

"Rick, what are you talking about?' Michonne asked. She still didn't know what he was saying.

"That day I told you I could lose you," Rick said as he looked into her eyes. "That was far from the truth. I can't lose you."

He continued when Michonne didn't say anything.

"I couldn't get to you and we heard the screams. I thought it was you and I couldn't stand the thought of you not being here anymore, he told her. That's all I've thought about for the past two days."

"It was really stupid of me to say that," he told her. "I just want you to know I didn't mean it. The truth is, Michonne I don't know what I'd do without you."

Michonne felt the same way about him. She didn't know what she would do without him.

I'm sorry," he said again, his voice cracking.

She saw that tears were threatening to come out of his eyes. Hey, she whispered as she touched his cheek.

"I'm here and you're here and we re not going anywhere," she told him. "We're here and we're not going to stop fighting. We're doing this.. all of this, together.. you and me."

Rick moved his head closer to hers and kissed her.

"You and me," he repeated.

And it would be them, together the two of them against the world.


End file.
